Toronto (February 24, 2020) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) calls on all Ontarians to stand united in the fight against antisemitism and to encourage their MPP to support the Combating Antisemitism Act, which will be debated at Queen’s Park on Thursday.

FSWC has served as a major backer of the Act, introduced to the legislature by MPP Will Bouma last fall.

In a letter sent today to all MPPs, FSWC wrote, “Antisemitic incidences and hate crimes have been growing in Canada at an alarming rate and Jews remain the community most targeted by hate crime. I ask that you take a stand against rising hatred and intolerance by demonstrating your strong support of the Combating Antisemitism Act… an important step in fighting discrimination against the Jewish community in Ontario.”

FSWC asks that all members of the community concerned with growing antisemitism reach out privately to their MPP to ask them to vote in support of the Combating Antisemitism Act. Contact information for all MPPs can be found here. In your letter to your MPP, please make sure to note your home address so they know you are a constituent.

The Combating Antisemitism Act, if passed, will require the provincial government to be guided by the international definition of antisemitism as outlined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). FSWC was part of the global consortium that crafted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which has already been adopted by more than 30 countries, including Canada.